Lachstock and Four Turbo Charged Cylinders ['04 NB SE]

[SKYHI]

Sounds like a good weekend indeed. Been meaning to get along to one of these "premeets" for a couple of years now, but something always seems to come up.

[Magpie]

But a 2 way is so much fun... same ratio I assume was swapped in?

[ManiacLachy]

A 2-way would be great for track work, or drifting, which is what the original owner was planning. Not so great for driving the streets, going to work, the shops etc.

The same 3.6 ratio was kept, which goes nicely on the 6 speed.

[ManiacLachy]

I wasn't able to make time to get the car scheduled as planned, so I've decided to defer this maintenance for 5-10k, water pumps are pretty solid, this one isn't too old time-wise, and I haven't heard of many failures, and the engine is non-interference so should the timing belt go I'll just have to use my RACQ membership for a tow. I don't think I'm in much danger to be honest.

I've re-submitted my order with Fab9, this time for the ATI Damper, let's see if they can get it right this time, and hopefully I'll get the crank damper installed with the service after all.

So, I did change my oil and oil filter over the weekend, in keeping with my regular 5k km changes. I found a magnetic sump plug that I bought form Beavis a while back, so that went in. The oil looks good and clean to my eye, so it'll be interesting to see if anything is picked up.

I also found some engine dress up fender washer/bolt things I bought from Beavis, so I threw those in around the engine bay.

And while I was in there I decided to re-test the exhaust manifold nuts. The SE manifold has a bad habit of coming loose, creaking an exhaust leak, robbing the turbo of some spool and warping the manifold. This has happened to me before and getting the manifold machined flat again, and the labour involved in removing it wasn't cheap, prevention better than cure, etc. All was well, I could crank one or two of the nuts very slightly, but no evidence of a leak.


Naked SE Exhaust manifold, with tight nuts

While jacking the car up, I did notice my front drivers side tyre looked a little flat. I only pumped it up a week ago...


There's your problem! At least it's in the centre of the tread

Damn! I swapped all the the 15" Enkei's out and put my old SE 17" Racing Hart's back on. I'll take the 4 into the tyre shop when I can, get the nail removed and take the opportunity to have the tyres rotated, which is more than due, make the best of a bad situation and all that. The big wheels look so foreign now, and the ride is noticeably harsher.

[Nevyn72]

The big wheels look so foreign now, and the ride is noticeably harsher.

Is that the ride or Lokiel yelling at you?

[Lokiel]

Believe it or not, I actually found a good use for my 17" Racing Hart "boat anchors".
Stack them on a movable trolley and put a square board on top and it makes a great portable table for doing jobs around your car, no need to bend down and reach for the tools - useful for tuning in the garage too!

When I sold them (with their brand new tyres), I really missed that bench space

My SP23 came with the abominable 17" rims too which were bloody awful after the 16" rims on my previous Mazda 3 so I bought some "brand new" 2nd-hand 16" CX3 rims for it and my 16" rims now serve as my portable bench-top.

Other good uses for 17" Racing Hart "boat anchors" include:
* land fill
* planter pots
* stack them 2-high around the barbie and you've got some great seats
* artificial reefs

[ManiacLachy]

They really do ride worse. But having a spare set of wheels and tyres is useful. And those 17"s are worth anything much on the market, so keeping them on hand is worth the effort.

Also, if/when I do another skidpan day, they'll be great. No point tearing up the good tyres and risking the good wheels

[Lokiel]

They're also useful in providing additional safety under your tyres when you're up on jackstands and you're paranoid.

They MAY also come in handy when you decide to sell your car and the "idiot" new buyer really wants the Racing Hart rims - that'll be an added bonus since you can put them back on and get decent money for the 15" Enkei rims+tyres too.

It's funny how you get used to the look of things though - it took me a few months for the 15" rims to look right on my SE/MSM but now I find it hard to look at the 17" rims without thinking they look ridiculously "try-hard".

[ManiacLachy]

They MAY also come in handy when you decide to sell your car

If that day ever does come, the stock shocks are going on too.

I don't think I can un-standalone the car at this point, so that stuff would have to stay.

[Daffy]

I’m hearing ya with that exhaust manifold- having just redoing the surface grind a second time on mine- you’ll finally get that chance to have a good chat with Daz in August too mate

[ManiacLachy]

So, because the 17" wheels are so crashy, I figured I should soften the shocks. Discovered I was already pretty soft, 4 clicks from full soft front and 2 rear. I have a vague recollection of setting them softer a year or so ago in an effort to placate the GF for a ride - didn't work. Softer than what I thought I was running. But, I went ahead with the plan and set all 4 corners full soft.

Horrible. Rebound felt loose and not fully controlled.

So, I went 5 clicks from full soft all around. Much better. Firm, but better controlled. I hardened them up again to 8 clicks from full soft, still feels good. Feels "racy". I'm going to keep going up until it's too much, then dial it back a touch.

Should be getting the tyres dealt with tomorrow, then I'll swap back on the weekend, and the 17s can go back in the corner to gather dust. Or I might use Lokiel's idea and find a trolley and some ply wood to use them as a mobile work bench.

I’m hearing ya with that exhaust manifold- having just redoing the surface grind a second time on mine- you’ll finally get that chance to have a good chat with Daz in August too mate

Going to try to talk with him before then, plus I don't want to bore him with shop talk on your birthday.

[ManiacLachy]

A little while ago when working under the car (a far too regular occurrence), I noticed one my of my Xida shock bodies had far more grime on it than the others, and it looked a little greasy/wet. Great leaky leaky. I left it for longer than I should have, eventually emailed Supermiata to ask about the rebuild process, and if I had to send them all the way to the US. Turns out there's an Australian group TT Suspension in NSW that work with Tractive shocks (what Xida is based on), and they can service and rebuild them!


Grit and grim stuck to the shock oil


One is clearly leaking and the other is just dirty

All the shocks had to come off so I could install the OEM tallbois back on for daily driving duties. A friend came around to help spin the spanners and we got the job done with no issues. Only one shock is leaking, you get them serviced in pairs, but I'll get all 4 corners done together. And I'm looking into shock socks, or the like to help keep grit away from the piston in the future.


I knew I kept these around for a reason

At the same time I reinstalled my OEM front upper control arms. A while back I removed them because they were impacting the shock bodies as a consequence of the extended lower ball joints. This isn't an issue with NA or NB1 arms, but for the NB2 Mazda added a little tab in the shock hole reducing clearance. I installed some V8Roadsters arms in their place which have a bigger pocket for the shock body. They didn't impact the shock, but they do have normal poly bushes that bind, and I missed the free rotating SADFab poly/bronze bushings in my stock arms. I've since ground down the offending meat of the arm so they now clear, and also installed some new Supermiata forged upper ball joints. So they went in while the shocks were out.


This is an old photo, looks like I didn't take any current ones. That tab at the top left of shock hole needed to be ground down


The V8 Roadsters FUCA

And because it's a pain the arse to work around, I also removed my Racing Beat 1.125" sway bar, and re-enforcement braces, and put the OEM bar back in. This is only temporary, the RB will go back in when the Xidas do, but the braces block the long bolt, and need to be removed anytime you want to access the shock, going OEM for now saves me the hassle for when I put the Xidas back in.


I could fit my head in there!

The car has epic wheel gap now Pretty sure I could off road it However, speed bumps are no longer a concern of mine. But corners are a bit scary with body roll! I hate to admit it, but the ride is pretty comfy on these OEM shocks and springs... Maybe I'll drop back to the lighter Xida springs when I re-assemble after the service?

Also, I put Lokiel's borrowed hard top back on again for fun and another round of evaluation to decide I want my own or not. I hate how good the cars look with hard tops. And colour matched would look even better! It's been almost a year, do you think he'd forget I had it?

[Daffy]

Here’s hoping the rebuild cost wont be too harsh- but best idea you have with getting them all done and not just the pair mate

[Corey]

Curious how you liked the Forza FP3 pads, considering an upgrade from a1rms in the future.

[ManiacLachy]

Here’s hoping the rebuild cost wont be too harsh- but best idea you have with getting them all done and not just the pair mate

Cheaper than new shocks, but not cheap, ~$450 a pair. I did consider buying just a new pair of Xida shocks (shock only, no springs, top hats, collars, washers, bumps, etc), but that would cost about ~$1k landed, if I recall correctly. So about the same outlay, I could have just swapped out the offending pair and left the rears in place, means less work and no need for stock shocks. But this is a little cheaper and I get 4 fully serviced, warrantied shocks back.

This failure has happened a little earlier than I should think is really acceptable. I don't thrash them, but I guess they get exposed to all manner of grit and grime. I'm going to look into "shock socks" or boots, something to help protect the pistons.

Curious how you liked the Forza FP3 pads, considering an upgrade from a1rms in the future.

The Forza FP3's are fine. I don't hammer them too often, so I really can't comment on their fade resistance etc. They are dusty, but they are also quiet. Perfectly fine for street use, IMO.